


Missing the third

by mugiwaras



Category: One Piece
Genre: Crying luffy, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Other, mentions of sabo - Freeform, my first time writing in forever, no beta we die like men, when they were still kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28147563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mugiwaras/pseuds/mugiwaras
Summary: Ace is alone with his thoughts for a bit at night, but there is something, someone, more important than his feelings.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Missing the third

It was never for himself - these sights he saw, the people he met. It was always for someone else - Ace was never worthy of his life. 

At first it was for Sabo. Ace’s first friend. His brother. Sabo, who said he wanted Ace to live. Who vowed to become a pirate with him.

...

Then Sabo left him, too. 

  
  


Ace vowed to himself to never let Luffy leave him. To never let Luffy get hurt. Every passing day this desire to keep his younger brother, his last family, grew stronger. Ace would sacrifice anything for that smile, even his life. If dying meant saving the last person he cared for, then Ace would be content that he had been needed. Wanted.

  
  


How many nights did Ace sink into deep inky pits while laying in bed next to Luffy? How many times did Ace contemplate why he was born? Why was he still alive? Why did he even bother anymore? How many times did he turn over to see Luffy’s peaceful, drooling face? The face which his whole life was dedicated to? 

Ace would momentarily have a break from his own mental abyss as he watched Luffy sleep. The small dust particles floating in the air around them were like the aimless and pointless track of mind that had consumed Ace prior. The serene and lonely moonlight illuminating part of Luffy’s face, making the scar under his eye glisten. The drool dribbling down his chin that caught the moonlight glistened, too. 

Ace wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here, at his brother’s side, keeping him safe.

  
  


With a soft exhale through his nose, Ace pushed himself out of bed. The floorboards creaked tiredly, and every few steps Ace caught himself looking back at Luffy to make sure he was still there. 

Luffy raised his head a little bit, and rubbed his eyes. He quietly squinted and watched Ace lightly shuffle through a pile of things nearby. 

“Ace?” Luffy said in a quiet, half-awake voice. Ace jumped, turning around with a small cloth in hand. The sight of Luffy sitting up, staring at him, calmed Ace down. 

“Go back to bed,” Ace said with a strict yet soft tone, “and wipe your face. You were drooling everywhere.” Ace threw the cloth at Luffy’s face, and it’s impact made him flinch backwards a bit. Letting the cloth fall off his face into his hands, Luffy stared at it. 

A silence filled their treehouse. It was as if time slowed down. The particles floating in the air calmly swirled in the moonlight, almost like a reminder that some things never change. That life goes on. 

Ace’s eyes softened, and he walked back over to the now teary-eyed Luffy. Sniffling, Luffy gripped the cloth in both hands, tears now falling and soaking into the fabric as he brought it slowly to his chest. Ace didn’t say anything as he slid down next to Luffy, pulling him into a tight hug. Luffy’s hands seemed so, so small as they gripped the fabric of Ace’s shirt. Ace felt a pain deep in his chest at this. 

Luffy is  _ young _ .

Ace rubbed small circles on Luffy’s back while the front of his shirt became wet with Luffy’s snot and tears. No words were exchanged, words were too painful and too difficult to manage. Even without them, Ace knew what was wrong. 

Eventually, Luffy’s shaking stopped. He’d cried himself to sleep in Ace’s arms. Carefully laying Luffy down, Ace lay next to him, holding his hand. Those inky thoughts from earlier try to creep back into Ace’s mind, but the image of Luffy’s puffy red eyes only leaves one thought, one desire, as Ace drifts to sleep.

_ I have to protect him… my little brother… _


End file.
